Darren stiffens next to Chrona and they wonder if perhaps they should have warmed up to that.
"Do you know who Lord Death is?" they ask.
"Yeah," Darren sighs "I know who he is."
Darren seemed almost exhausted at this point. As if anything and everything that could have gone wrong in the past day had and now, he had no fucks left to give. His arm momentarily tightens around them, his head leaning and rubbing into the crook of Chrona's neck, seeking comfort. It didn't bother Chrona per se, but they did feel a bit of their discomfort come back. They weren't used to being so intimate with others, certainly not strangers they had met a day ago. Sensing the tension in Chrona almost immediately he begins to pull back and apologize only to have the front door burst in at that very moment.
"Chrona!"
Chrona freezes "Maka."
Darren looks at him, clearly waiting for an explanation.
"Did I mention I was supposed to be meeting some people the other day before I got lost?"
"And you never showed up." Darren begins to chuckle dryly "At least they came looking for you."
They had, hadn't they? It filled Chrona with warmth to know their friends really did care enough to come looking for them, albeit a bit later than they would have expected. They'd been gone for almost a full day at this point, they really should be in trouble. Chrona was honestly surprised a DWMA professor wasn't the one barging in and dragging them out. Speaking of the DWMA, they had so much to explain to Lord Death. They weren't sure they could deal with that now that reality was staring them in the face.
"Hey, Chrona, breathe!" Darren says rubbing his back somewhat roughly "Talk to me!"
The hyperventilating only got worse as they were lost to their paranoia and panic, unable to calm down. Darren brought them closer, trying to coax them out of their state with soothing words and touches, but the threat of Lord Death suddenly seemed much more real than ever before. He was never going to forgive them for this, they had to run.
"Do we still have time to jump out the window?" Chrona says finally.
Darren taking Chrona at his word goes and locks his bedroom door before the others get to it and grabs a stuffed duffle bag out from under the bed. He gets to the window and pries it open.
He holds his hand out for Chrona. "Let's go."
Of course, right as Chrona takes his hand the bedroom door is shattered. Maka stares at the two from the broken doorway not sure what to make of the situation.
"Who the hell is that?!" Soul says breaking the silence.
Chrona, finally coming back to themself, moves to stand in front of Darren despite how scared they were. They were visibly shaking and, at the sight of it, Maka and Soul stand down. Maka moves forward to embrace Chrona until they flinch in fear. She stops.
"Chrona, what happened? You never showed up yesterday." She says careful not to spook him.
Chrona wrings their hands "I got lost, and I ran into Darren in an alleyway, he was really hurting, dying even!"
"Dude looks fine to me." Soul scoffs before being wacked into silence.
Chrona continues, unaware of Soul's comment. "So, I-I-I tried to save him…and I did! Then I brought him home to rest and stayed to make sure he was ok."
Maka remained calm, trying not to let her thoughts go wild, but Soul had a point, she had to ask.
"How did you save him, Chrona?"
Tears were streaming down their face now and Darren took that as his cue to take over the conversation. He carefully moved Chrona behind him before attempting to tell them what happened. They were definitely on their guard now. He wanted to pull as much of the heat off Chrona as he could. He had to think of the most careful, but succinct way of getting this over with. Like ripping off a band aid.
"Black Blood, I have black blood now. What do we do about it?"
The sheer panic and rage that overtook the others faces was enough to make Chrona cower and to make Darren feel better about putting himself in between Chrona and their supposed friends. Maybe they would still have to jump out the window.
"You idiot!" Maka screamed "What were you thinking?!"
Darren was ready to start a fight when Chrona screamed back. "I couldn't let him die!"
They buried their face into Darren's back, gripping his shirt and crying harder than they already had been. Darren was starting to get really tired of these two, first they break into his house and now they're making his little dragonfly cry. He was ready to grab Chrona and run, but then a group of even more footsteps rushed to meet them. Suddenly there were five more people in his apartment.
"Who the hell is that?!" Blackstar screeches.
"My name is Darren, you could just ask me you know, I'm standing right here." He snips.
"I don't care what your name is! I asked who you are! A new opponent perhaps?"
"Blackstar!" Tsubaki admonishes.
"And may I ask just what you're doing with Chrona?" Kid steps forward "They were supposed to return to the academy. Honestly Chrona, you can't just run off like that."
Chrona is hiccupping between sobs now, they still had more tears to cry?
"Kid, we need to take them to see Lord Death." Maka whispers to him.
"Why?" he whispers back.
Maka leans in even closer and whispers the secret in his ear. Kid immediately drains of all color.
"Impossible!"
"Apparently not." Soul sighs.
Kid seems beside himself, his mind working a mile a minute, trying to come up with a solution.
"That's it everyone out, back to the academy, NOW!"
"Hey! Who put you in charge?!" Blackstar challenges "Besides we're not going anywhere till you tell us what's going on!"
"Darren is infected, we need to take him to see my father, immediately." Kid snaps "This is not time for one of your silly, convoluted power games!"
Everyone immediately quiets before beginning to filter out of the room except for Soul, Kid, and Maka who wait for Darren and Chrona. They all noticeably stare at the window.
"After you two," Kid says "I insist."
Darren sneers before taking Chrona's hand and dragging them out of the room.
"I hope your father is gonna pay for the damage you guys did to my apartment."
"Gladly." Kid answers, not missing a step "We'll send someone immediately."
With that they all silently make their way back to the academy, wondering just what is about to happen. It hadn't gotten the best of Maka and Soul or even Chrona for that matter, but how would this stranger, with no training, fare? They had no way of knowing. Before long everyone found their way to the front of the academy where Dr. Stein and Spirit seemed to be already waiting for them.
"Glad to see you all back in one piece." Dr Stein smirks "Lord Death is waiting for us, but before that, your name young man?"
"Darren."
"Nice to meet you Darren, if you'll follow us."
Stein turns making his way in, expecting everyone to follow. Spirit takes up the rear, keeping an eye on the new kid and checking in with his daughter, to no avail. Darren takes in the opulence and intimidation of the academy and wonders just what he had gotten himself into. He thought Death City would be the best place to hide, but maybe he was wrong.
"Well howdy everyone, glad to see you're all ok, and lookie here we have someone new!"
"Hey, Lord Death, it's nice to finally meet you in person." Darren says.
"Likewise, Darren, I had hoped for a better introduction, but it seems you've already found your way into the academy's mischief on your own."
"Hold on just a minute father, do you know him?!"
"Yes, I do, he's the new academy student I've been talking about."
"New student?!" Kid snaps.
"That's right and you would all do well to help him fit in around here." Lord Death reprimands "He was the victim of some terrible people, much like Chrona, and has sook refuge here at the academy. So, please do treat him kindly whi-"
"If you knew he was in danger why would you leave him all alone at the edge of the city like that, he almost died!" Chrona cuts in.
Lord Death was taken aback by this outburst. Never had Chrona spoken to him like that. He turns to Darren in question, deciding Chrona is much too charged to give a decent answer.
"Would you like to tell me what happened?"
Darren shifts awkwardly. "Can I speak to you about it alone, it's kind of personal. I'll be real quick, they can stand outside, but I don't want them to hear."
"The students may leave, but I'm sure you'll understand that at least one of my staff members has to stay."
"I do." Darren agrees "Can it be him."
He points to Dr. Stein.
"I'm sure he'd be delighted." he turns to Stein whose eyes glimmer with fascination "Spirit if you would take the children outside and check them for any injuries, just in case."
Spirit inclines his head in acquiescence and signals for everyone to leave the room, except Stein and Darren. Chrona is reluctant to leave him alone and clings to his arm silently asking for permission to stay. Darren pulls them in close and kisses the top of their head, trying to soothe them, before whispering that he wanted to explain everything to Lord Death. He knew Chrona wouldn't get very far and told them as much. He assured Chrona that no matter what he had their back and that he was going to get them out of this. Chrona reluctantly agreed and started to make their way out with everyone else, hoping against all hope that they would both somehow come out of this unscathed. They paced back and forth while everyone was checked over and chattering about their opinions on the subject.
"I can't believe that guy, trying to outshine me!" Blackstar childishly rages "It's not fair! When do we get to use the black blood?"
"Never!" Maka snaps "Why would you even want to?!"
"I mean it does seem kind of cool." Patty giggles "Can we get infected, Kid?"
Kid growls. "Don't even joke about something like that Patty!"
"Yeah!" Liz cries "Who knows what that would even do to our bodies!"
Chrona can't take it.
"WOULD YOU ALL SHUT UP!?"
Everyone stared at Chrona, the silence was deafening, why did they have to stare at them like that? They began pulling at their hair, crying once again. Why were they like this? They began really losing it when the doors opened back up only to reveal Dr. Stein and Darren laughing their asses off.
"Is that right?" Stein finally says, inhaling deeply "You're a fascinating specimen Darren, I must admit. I have high expectations for you now, please don't disappoint me."
"I'll try not to professor." Darren chuckles before turning kind of serious "And you'll keep my secrets, right?"
Stein pulls out a cigarette, lighting it, before smiling evilly and taking a long drag.
"What secrets?"
With that he disappears down the hall, ignoring Spirit who demanded to know where he was going. Darren laughs fully and Chrona can feel all the anxiety and paranoia leave them at once. They cling to Darren once more, taking their turn to rub their head into the crook of Darren's neck. He smiles, looping his arms around Chrona, and whispering in their ear that they were in the clear, for now. Chrona feels the last of their tension leave their body and begins crying tears of joy. They were going to be ok.
"Hey! What the hell are you two doing over there?"